Religion will always have a hard time defending itself. By bringing it out into the open, this documentary may only be preaching to the non-converted.
Religulous (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:98
Rotten:43
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Religulous is funny and offensive in equal measure, and aims less to change hearts and minds than to inspire conversation.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $12,995,673
Synopsis: Bill Maher travels to Israel, England, the Netherlands, Vatican City, and across America, speaking to people about faith and religion in the very funny documentary RELIGULOUS. Maher, a stand-up... Bill Maher travels to Israel, England, the Netherlands, Vatican City, and across America, speaking to people about faith and religion in the very funny documentary RELIGULOUS. Maher, a stand-up comedian who has hosted the talk shows POLITICALLY INCORRECT on ABC and REAL TIME on HBO and has written such bestsellers as DOES ANYBODY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT? and WHEN YOU RIDE ALONE, YOU RIDE WITH BIN LADEN, reaches out to religious leaders as well as regular folk on the street, discussing the existence of God and the importance of organized religion. Maher makes it clear from the start that he is not a fan of religion and does not believe in God, and he has fun skewering people who do--including Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Mormons, rabbis, priests, politicians, scientists, evangelical ministers, and even a preacher whose church is a converted truck. He also visits such places as the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, where he interviews the actor who plays Jesus in a live show there, and the Red Light District in Amsterdam, notorious for its legalized drugs and prostitution. As he has done on his television programs and in his books, Maher questions literal interpretations of the Bible, seeing it more as a collection of fairy tales. Director Larry Charles (BORAT, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM) intersperses clips from Hollywood films about religion to punctuate Maher's points, often to hilarious effect. The soundtrack is also used effectively, including such songs as the Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright," Ben Folds's "Jesusland," and Billy Bragg and Wilco's "Christ for President." Like such Michael Moore documentaries as FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, Maher's RELIGULOUS uses humor--and lots of cynicism and sarcasm--to examine controversial theories and topics that people feel very strongly about, no matter what side of the fence they are on. In addition to making audiences laugh, RELIGULOUS will make them think. [More]
Starring: Bill Maher, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor
Starring: Bill Maher, Kathy Maher, Julie Maher, Mark Pryor, Andrew Newberg, Ray Suarez, Francis Collins, Brian Weiss, Aki Nawaz
Director: Larry Charles
Director: Larry Charles
Producer: Bill Maher, Jonah Smith, Palmer West
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Religulous
Some of it is very funny--I can't remember the last time I laughed as much at a film that I didn't really like--but after a while, both Maher and the film become more than a little tiresome.
Religulous will almost certainly not change your opinion of Maher, but the film is exceedingly well-made, intriguing, and awkwardly hilarious.
Bill Maher shines light on the weird beliefs of people around the country and around the world
It's an unstructured, scatter-gun attack, with Maher's cynical wit piercing the pretensions of one true believer after another, and director Larry Charles punctuating the encounters with cuts to Maher's vintage stand-up routines.
Despite his deep commitment to logic and reason (one might say he has a lot of faith in it), Maher never really makes his case.
Maher's antireligion documentary, Religulous, has numerous blasts of raucous humor amid passages that feel like a screed.
The film is basically 100-plus minutes of Maher making fun of others for their beliefs. However, he does nothing to prove his own points and contentions.
Whether you're a Sunday School regular or a godless intellectual, you're certain to find Bill Maher's anti-religion polemic Religulous to be a provocative, brilliant, infuriating documentary.
Bill Maher would have been burned at the stake if his hellishly hilarious and surprisingly thoughtful satire on organized religion had played the Inquisition.
In the end, Maher suffers from the same rigidity of thought - the certitude that he's right and those who disagree are wrong - that he dislikes in people of faith.
...a profane, sacrilegious and very funny anti-religion documentary that is well worth seeing - perhaps especially if you're a person of faith.
Leaves the viewer wondering how much more interesting the movie might have been had Maher picked on more people his own intellectual size.
It's a nasty, condescending, small-minded film, self-amused and ultimately self-defeating. Its only accomplishment is to make atheists look bad -- and in this political climate they didn't need Maher's help with that.
The truth is Religulous is a well-structured product of doubt, an argument of uncertainty that preaches to the choir but also manages to recruit new skeptics.
This movie is about Bill Maher's opinion of religion. He's very smart, quick and funny, and I found the movie entertaining, although sometimes he's a little mean to his targets.
Religulous is the type of film to be sent off into the world to crack open a few eyes and change some lives. In reality, only those patient with Maher and already free of devotion will be receptive to the message. It's a missed opportunity.
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